Pages

Monday, March 26, 2012

Keeper of Traken set

Okay, the figures above, left to right, are the 4th Doctor, the Melkur, and the Master... And that's about all I know really... Okay, not really, I'm a Doctor Who fanboy, but I don't know the detail. The big details. I do know that the 4th Doctor is called to Traken to deal with the living statue known as the Melkur who might be planning on disrupting an important to the entire universe ceremony. The Melkur is actually a robot controlled by the Master, who is about to die with his body almost as dead as it was during his last appearance on the show, "The Deadly Assassin."

There's also some stuff about a dude named Tremas and his daughter Nyssa who would both become regulars on the show as the new host to the Master's mind and the 5th Doctor's companion respectively. But they don't matter in this little article.

Why did I buy this toy? Other than the obvious fact that I love Doctor Who? Two reasons. 1) This is one of the few 4th Doctor variants that doesn't just repaint one of the 2 base bodies used for 4th Doctor figures. 2) I never got the Deadly Assassin Master figure, so if I wanted to get a figure of the "withered corpse" Master (also known by me as the 2nd Master) then this would be my best bet.

The 4th Doctor features the new ball jointed shoulders that I'm hoping will be adopted by all Doctor Who figures soon. I like the figure. The lack of a coat or scarf is a nice change from all the other 4th Doctor figures I have. People forget that the 4th Doctor wore a number of different outfits, and did spend moments without his scarf. So it's nice to get a figure of one of those moments.

The Master features the more often used cut joint shoulders with bicep swivel. His cape is plastic and glued to his chest, so posing the figure is very limited. The cowl gets in the way of the head, so don't expect to be able to move it. But he balances, so good enough.

The Melkur is a hollow plastic disappointment. 5 points of articulation, all cut joints, and is made of a soft plastic that feels like a sad rubber duck. There's also the Master's TARDIS, which is just a hollow Block of plastic with a clock face sticker on it.

Ultimately the set is very disappointing. Aside from the Doctor, the figures all have big problems that might not be deal-breakers, but combine to a very frustrating mess of a set. It doesn't help that I have no idea what that accessory globe thing is.